# William Sanderson
**William Sanderson** (born 1944) is an American character actor known for his small frame, deadpan expression, and monotone Southern drawl, deployed in cult films such as *Blade Runner* and *Fletch* and in popular television series including *Newhart*, *Deadwood*, and *True Blood*.[1](https://avclub.com/william-sanderson-1798216743) His best-known roles are the flaky backwoodsman Larry on the sitcom *Newhart* (1982–1990), the toy maker J.F. Sebastian in *Blade Runner* (1982), and the conniving hotel proprietor E.B. Farnum on the HBO western *Deadwood* (2004–2006).[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0761836/bio) • [3](https://deadwood.fandom.com/wiki/William_Sanderson)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1944, Memphis, Tennessee; nickname Bill; height 5′ 8″ (1.73 m)[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0761836/bio) |
| Education | BBA and JD law degree from Memphis State University; studied acting with Herbert Berghof and William Hickey in New York[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0761836/bio) |
| Signature TV role | Larry on *Newhart* (1982–1990), with the catchphrase "Hi. I'm Larry. This is my brother Darryl. This is my other brother Darryl."[3](https://deadwood.fandom.com/wiki/William_Sanderson) |
| Signature film role | J.F. Sebastian in *Blade Runner* (1982)[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0761836/bio) |
| Later TV role | E.B. Farnum on *Deadwood* (2004–2006), reprised in *Deadwood: The Movie* (2019)[3](https://deadwood.fandom.com/wiki/William_Sanderson) |
| Memoir | *Yes, I'm That Guy: The Rough-and-Tumble Life of a Character Actor* (2019)[4](https://www.filmbol.org/kisi/590/) |
## Early life and education
Sanderson was born in [Memphis, Tennessee](https://www.edgepedia.org/memphis-tennessee), in 1944; his mother was an elementary school teacher and his father was a landscape designer.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0761836/bio) He served two years in the US Army, then attended [Southern Methodist University](https://www.edgepedia.org/southern-methodist-university) before earning both a BBA degree and a JD law degree from Memphis State University.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0761836/bio) In an interview with [The A.V. Club](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-a-v-club), he said he never intended to practice law: after reading a book by Adlai Stevenson while in the Army, he briefly saw law as a noble calling, but decided halfway through school to finish the degree for the G.I. Bill and moved to New York to act instead.[1](https://avclub.com/william-sanderson-1798216743)
[In New York](https://www.edgepedia.org/in-new-york) he studied his craft with Herbert Berghof and William Hickey and began in off-Broadway stage productions.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0761836/bio) His stage work included productions of *The Taming of the Shrew*, *When Ya Comin' Back, Red Ryder?*, *To Kill a Mockingbird*, *Dutchman*, *Tobacco Road*, and others.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0761836/bio) He has described the New York years as a great apprenticeship, recalling that he began by playing "homeless bums" both on and off stage.[5](https://harrisburgmagazine.com/mr-sanderson-goes-to-harrisburg/) • [1](https://avclub.com/william-sanderson-1798216743)
## Early film work
Sanderson's first substantial screen role was as the vicious racist and escaped convict Jessie Lee Kane in the exploitation feature *Fight for Your Life* (1977), a lead role he took to get footage of himself to show around; the film was banned in England, and he has said he is not proud of it, though [Quentin Tarantino](https://www.edgepedia.org/quentin-tarantino) has screened it at film festivals as an example of that era of exploitation films.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0761836/bio) • [1](https://avclub.com/william-sanderson-1798216743) He followed it with supporting parts in major films: *The Onion Field* (1979), *Coal Miner's Daughter* (1980) as Lee Dollarhide, a relative of [Loretta Lynn](https://www.edgepedia.org/loretta-lynn)'s, and *Raggedy Man* (1981) as Calvin.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0761836/bio) • [5](https://harrisburgmagazine.com/mr-sanderson-goes-to-harrisburg/) [Television](https://www.edgepedia.org/television) movies from the same period included *Scared Straight: Another Story* (CBS, 1980), as a convict helping youth offenders stay out of prison, and *The Executioner's Song* (NBC, 1982), as Tommy Lee Jones' cell mate.[6](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/william-sanderson/)
Early in his career he specialized in what he calls "prairie scum" roles, and he has said he would rather be typecast than not cast at all.[7](https://www.amka.ch/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/PROMISED_LAND.pdf) • [1](https://avclub.com/william-sanderson-1798216743)
## Newhart and Larry
Sanderson achieved his greatest popularity as Larry on the hit sitcom *Newhart*, which he played from 1982 to 1990.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0761836/bio) • [3](https://deadwood.fandom.com/wiki/William_Sanderson) Larry's brothers, Darryl and Darryl, never talked, and Larry's introduction became the character's catchphrase: "Hi. I'm Larry. This is my brother Darryl. This is my other brother Darryl."[3](https://deadwood.fandom.com/wiki/William_Sanderson) What he thought was a guest-star role became an eight-year run.[1](https://avclub.com/william-sanderson-1798216743) • [7](https://www.amka.ch/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/PROMISED_LAND.pdf) At the audition he went in wearing several layers of clothes like the town crazy he had played on the East Coast, put a quarter in his ear, a gesture he had first used in *Coal Miner's Daughter*, and patterned the character partly off a bum picking lint off his head in New York; he wore the coin for parts of eight seasons.[1](https://avclub.com/william-sanderson-1798216743) He has said of the character, "Larry was based on a character that had true insight into the world. He was drunk, but a little insane. I loved playing him."[5](https://harrisburgmagazine.com/mr-sanderson-goes-to-harrisburg/) Fellow cast members [Bob Newhart](https://www.edgepedia.org/bob-newhart), Tom Poston, and series creator Barry Kemp have discussed the Larry, Darryl, and Darryl characters in Television Academy interviews.[8](https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/people/william-sanderson)
## Film career in the 1980s and 1990s
While on *Newhart*, Sanderson played the sympathetic toy maker J.F. Sebastian in the science-fiction classic *Blade Runner* (1982), a role requiring two hours of latex makeup per day; the film became a cult favorite that he notes is now taught in architecture classes.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0761836/bio) • [1](https://avclub.com/william-sanderson-1798216743) His other film credits from the period include *Lone Wolf McQuade* (1983) as Snow, *City Heat* (1984) as Lonnie Ash, *Fletch* (1985) as Swarthout, *[The Rocketeer](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-rocketeer-film)* (1991), *Wagons East* (1994) as Zeke, and *Last Man Standing* (1996) as Joe Monday, directed by [Walter Hill](https://www.edgepedia.org/walter-hill), who also directed the pilot of *Deadwood*.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0761836/bio) • [3](https://deadwood.fandom.com/wiki/William_Sanderson) • [1](https://avclub.com/william-sanderson-1798216743) In *Stanley's Gig* he carried a leading role, portraying the title character opposite [Faye Dunaway](https://www.edgepedia.org/faye-dunaway).[9](https://www.wpr.org/person/william-sanderson)
## Deadwood and later television
Sanderson returned to series television as E.B. Farnum, the conniving hotel proprietor, on HBO's gritty western *Deadwood* from 2004 to 2006, later reprising the role in *Deadwood: The Movie* (2019).[3](https://deadwood.fandom.com/wiki/William_Sanderson) He has called the part a lucky break and credited creator [David Milch](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-milch), who told the crew that Sanderson had to be in every episode and managed it; Milch would draw on Sanderson's own insecurities in conversation and work them into the script.[5](https://harrisburgmagazine.com/mr-sanderson-goes-to-harrisburg/) • [1](https://avclub.com/william-sanderson-1798216743) In 2008 he joined the cast of *True Blood* as Sheriff Bud Dearborne, playing the role through 2012, and he played Oldham, the interrogation expert of the DHARMA Initiative, in the fifth season of *Lost*.[3](https://deadwood.fandom.com/wiki/William_Sanderson)
His guest appearances span decades of television, including *The X-Files*, *ER*, *The Practice*, *The Pretender*, *Matlock*, *Babylon 5* (as Deuce, a role he reprised in *Babylon 5: Thirdspace*), *Married... with Children*, *Knight Rider*, *Monk*, *Without a Trace*, *Bones*, and *Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior*.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0761836/bio) • [3](https://deadwood.fandom.com/wiki/William_Sanderson) In 2001 he played the bartender Dewey in the TNT western *Crossfire Trail*.[3](https://deadwood.fandom.com/wiki/William_Sanderson)
## Voice work and memoir
Sanderson's distinctive voice has been used for numerous cartoon characters, radio commercials, and books on tape.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0761836/bio) He voiced Dr. Karl Rossum in *Batman: The Animated Series*, took part in NPR's 2000X audio dramatization of [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://www.edgepedia.org/ursula-k-le-guin)'s *Vaster than Empires and More Slow*, and was heard in the animated series *Santo Bugito* (CBS, 1995).[3](https://deadwood.fandom.com/wiki/William_Sanderson) • [6](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/william-sanderson/)
In 2019 he published his autobiographical book *Yes, I'm That Guy: The Rough-and-Tumble Life of a Character Actor*, recounting his Hollywood experiences and personal struggles, the same year his final screen appearance as E.B. Farnum reached audiences in *Deadwood: The Movie*.[4](https://www.filmbol.org/kisi/590/)
## References
1. [William Sanderson interview, The A.V. Club (Noel Murray, June 11, 2009)](https://avclub.com/william-sanderson-1798216743)
2. [William Sanderson Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0761836/bio)
3. [William Sanderson, Deadwood Wiki (Fandom)](https://deadwood.fandom.com/wiki/William_Sanderson)
4. [William Sanderson, Filmbol](https://www.filmbol.org/kisi/590/)
5. [Mr. Sanderson Goes to Harrisburg, Harrisburg Magazine](https://harrisburgmagazine.com/mr-sanderson-goes-to-harrisburg/)
6. [William Sanderson, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/william-sanderson/)
7. [William Sanderson, Promised Land production notes (amka.ch)](https://www.amka.ch/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/PROMISED_LAND.pdf)
8. [William Sanderson, Television Academy Interviews](https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/people/william-sanderson)
9. [William Sanderson, Wisconsin Public Radio](https://www.wpr.org/person/william-sanderson)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 1970s to 1990s › Surnames Ro to Sa*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license